The Rag Doll Has a Company
by beautifulqueenx
Summary: When he visited Eponine and Enjolras who had just welcomed their new baby, Marius sensed that there was something wrong with the hospital, but he could not put his finger on it. His daughter's strange behaviour after the visit alarmed him, yet his wife and friends remained oblivious. Was Marius right? Was there something bothering her daughter? Did something follow them home?


**Company**

Marius got out of his expensive car and blinked when he saw the old, worn out building in front of him. Behind him was a sign that had "MATERNITY WARD" written in capital and bold red letters on it. He turned as his wife got out of the car with their five years old daughter, Marissa. She was hugging her precious and very beautiful rag doll; the one Jehan had bought her for her recent birthday. Both Cosette and Marius personally found the doll quite creepy but Marissa fell in love with it the moment she laid eyes on the doll, so there was nothing that they could do.

"Are you sure this is the place?"

His wife raised a disbelieving eyebrow. Her eyes darted from her husband to the building and then back to Marius. She looked like she was contemplating something and after a while, she uttered, "What is wrong with this place?"

"It's… old. Like, _really old_. I feel like I am back in the 60's! Why would Eponine give birth here?"

"Well, according to Enjolras, her water broke when she's teaching. Her school is right down the street and this is the nearest hospital. It's not like she has any choice." Cosette shrugged when she finished, and Marius rubbed his temple like he was trying to absorb the new piece of information his wife told him.

"Still," Marius put his hands on his hips and his eyes were back to the building, "I cannot imagine Enjolras allowing his wife to give birth in this hospital."

"It's not that bad. Besides, Enjolras is not you. He doesn't think that fancy hospitals are any better than old hospitals like this. He probably likes the old school look of this place."

"I guess that's why we never really see eye to eye." Marius chuckled.

"Let's go. It's scorching hot and I think Marissa is getting dizzy from the heat." Cosette said as she made her way towards the maternity ward's entrance. Her hand was holding her daughter's, who turned her head and exclaimed,

"Daddy, come on!"

Marius simply shrugged and followed his wife and daughter from behind.

* * *

As Cosette entered the hospital, she had to admit that Marius was right. This place was ancient. The hallway was pretty dark, the sofas in the waiting room were pretty worn out and the television in there was broken. However, what annoyed Cosette the most was that there wasn't any air-conditioning system. They used ceiling and wall fans and this did not go well with the heat in Malaysia.

She started to sweat because of the heat and she turned to Marius who had a smug smile plastered on his face. She knew that he was mocking her. Shaking her head, she moved to the counter to talk to the nurse, refusing to let him win.

The nurse at the counter was chubby, yet the friendly and lovable vibe that she radiated cooled Cosette down a little.

"Hi. I am here to visit Eponine Thenardier Enjolras"

"Mrs Enjolras? Her room is at the top floor. Two floors up, room number 6." She replied kindly.

"This place only has two floors for God's sake. What kind of hospital is this?" Marius whispered to Cosette, but loud enough for the nurse to hear. The nurse did not say anything but looked down at her feet. Cosette glared at him for being so rude and then stepped on his toe to teach him a lesson. She knew that it hurt more because she was wearing heels. Marissa giggled when she saw her Daddy wincing in pain.

"Thank you." She said to the nurse, smiling apologetically. She began to descend up the stairs when she heard Marius called her and Marissa.

"What now?" she snapped, turning around to face her husband who was frowning at her.

"Why are you using the stairs? There's a lift right there!"

"The lift is for the patients only. Besides," the corners of her mouth tugged upwards, "this place only has two floors up. Let's take the stairs instead. Come on, Marissa."

She heard Marius complaining behind her and she smirked, amused.

* * *

It did not take a long time for them to find Eponine's room. When they finally did, they knocked before they came in and were greeted by both Enjolras and Eponine who looked tired as hell, but simply cherry and jovial because they had just welcomed their first child.

Marius observed the room, which had four beds but only one was occupied and that was by his best friend, Eponine. Other beds were empty and he did not know whether the patients were gone to have their babies or there were no patients at all.

As if he could read his friend's mind, Enjolras moved to stand next to Marius said, "She got the room to herself, which is a good thing. I don't think Eponine would want to share the room with other people. I tried to get one of the private rooms but they're all booked, so, we're lucky to get this one."

Marius turned to Enjolras and beamed. His friend who had always looked so serious and stoic was now grinning widely, looking ten years younger that he always was. Marius had never seen him so at peace, so content. Marius knew that Enjolras was not used to showing affection to his friends but right now Marius could not help himself. He went over and flung his arms around Enjolras, giving him a big hug, telling him how excited he was for him.

"Congratulations man!" Marius exclaimed, excitement lacing his voice.

To his surprise, Enjolras did not freeze, or pat him awkwardly or even worse, tried to push him away like Marius had expected him to but instead, he hugged him back.

"Thank you. I've never been happier." He said gleefully, his eyes twinkling with exhilaration.

Marius pulled away and found his and Enjolras' wives looking at them, eyes widened because both Enjolras and Marius had never really agreed on a lot of things. In fact, they argued a lot. Cosette remembered that sometimes Marius would come home in a bad mood because Enjolras yelled at him for not taking things seriously. He would then say that Enjolras did not have any sense of humor.

Eponine, on the other hand, remembered that sometimes Enjolras would come home seething with anger because none of his friends seemed to understand how seriously he took his cause. The men fought a lot but she knew that deep down, they still have massive respect for one another despite their differences. After all, they were good friends ever since college.

Marius and Enjolras walked towards Eponine, who then handed her son to Enjolras. The beautiful baby with cute dimples and blonde curls stared curiously back at his father with his hazel brown eyes that matched Eponine's. Each time Enjolras looked at his son, he swelled with pride because this baby, he was his and Eponine's – this baby was the proof of their love.

"His name is Sebastian," Enjolras told them, his voice soft and his eyes filled with love for his son. Eponine too, had never looked happier.

"He's beautiful. Just like you." Eponine uttered, tears of happiness were in her eyes.

"I think he has your looks. Look at those dimples," Enjolras replied fondly. Then, he went to sit next to his wife and took her hand is his as he kissed her forehead.

"Sebastian is perfect. You're awesome. Thank you. Thank you so much," he said to Eponine, squeezing her hand tightly.

"Thank you. I think I am pretty awesome too." Eponine answered cheekily. Enjolras simply chuckled.

"I love you,"

"I love you too,"

It was not Eponine and Enjolras to be like this because both of them usually weren't comfortable with public display of affection. But then right now they're both too happy and were so high on cloud nine to even care. Marius and Cosette watched them fondly, and then turned to look at one another, both remembering how blessed they felt the time when Marissa was born.

Speaking of Marissa, the girl was quiet the whole time that the adults had almost forgotten that she was with them. Marius looked left and right and found her daughter standing beside the empty bed that was across Eponine's.

Her expression was serious. She was staring into the space on the bed, hugging her rag doll and seemed to be in a very, very deep thought. Marius wondered, was she jealous of the new baby? Marissa did not like the idea of having a sibling or having another baby added to the family. Eponine and Enjolras were family. He wondered whether she was sulking because she thought her Aunt Eponine and Uncle Enjolras were going to love her less.

Cosette seemed to wonder the same thing so she gestured Marius to talk to Marissa. Smiling lovingly, she then got up from her chair and made her way to Enjolras, wanting to get a closer look at his son.

Marius walked slowly to her daughter, who did not hear him approach.

"Marissa, are you okay?" Marius whispered, taking a seat on the bed. His daughter jumped a little but then raised her eyes from the empty space on the bed to her father. Her expression was unreadable.

"I'm okay, Daddy. How's little Sebastian doing?"

"He's… wait, how did you know his name?" Marius said and turned to look at Cosette, Eponine and Enjolras at the bed across his.

As the room was quite spacious, the distance between Eponine's bed and the one he's sitting on right now was quite far. Marius tried to listen to what Enjolras was talking about to both Eponine and Cosette right now but it was no avail. If Marissa was at the side of this bed since then, how did she learn Sebastian's name?

"You don't have to look so confused, Daddy. She told me."

Marius raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Who told you, Marissa?" He asked carefully.

"The woman sitting right next to you, Daddy," she replied innocently, smiling at the empty space next to Marius. Marius stood up suddenly, as if the bed was made of fire. His face paled and he was starting to freak out.

"Marissa! Don't scare me like that!" he scolded his daughter. Marissa however, simply shrugged and giggled, as if Marius was being ridiculous. Marius believed that she got this particularly annoying attitude from her mother, and that irked him. Nevertheless, he realized that he shouldn't get mad at his Marissa like that. Perhaps he was being too paranoid.

Figuring that it was nothing, he then sat back on the bed. Marius was about to apologize but stopped when he saw that Marissa's expression changed from amused to serious.

Wrapping a hand around his daughter's small arm, he tugged her softly to him. "Marissa, dearest, what's wrong?"

Marissa ignored him.

She then said in a low voice to the empty space next to him, "Please don't disturb my uncle's family. They don't want to play with you."

There was silence before Marissa started speaking again.

"I cannot play with you. I need to go home. But if you want company, you can borrow my doll. You have to promise me to not disturb little Sebastian, alright?"

Marius, wanting his daughter to look at him, leaned down to Marissa. Although it was sweet of Marissa to care about Sebastian so much to let whatever she was talking to borrow her doll, he could not help but to worry about her.

"You promise? Good." Marissa continued.

She then put her beloved rag doll on the empty bed. Marius could have sworn that he saw that the doll was lifted to the air and landed on the left side of the bed. Marius blinked, hoping that he was only seeing things because he was too tired from work. However, he saw the teddy bear moved by itself and her daughter smiled knowingly.

As if that wasn't enough to scare him, he suddenly saw an indentation on the empty spot next to him, as if someone was sitting on it, as if someone was sitting next to him. Marius blinked his eyes furiously, and then refocused his gaze on the spot next to him – hoping to God that it was just his illusion. The dent was no longer there, but Marius suddenly felt really uneasy. He was consumed with that kind of feeling, the one when you felt the burning in your neck, indicating that someone was watching you, indicating that someone was right behind you. He stood up and spun around.

There was no one. But this did not make him feel any better.

He felt chill ran down his spine and he wanted nothing than to get out of this place. His breath began to become shallow and he felt his heartbeat quickened.

"Let's get out of here, Daddy. You look like you're going to faint. Come on," Marissa said finally and took his hand, dragging him away from that bed. "She's not going to harm us," Marissa said innocently. Her voice was so sweet that it was almost scary. This did not make him feel less frightened.

"Daddy, please cheer up. I don't like seeing you like this" Marissa looked worriedly to him. Marius' eyes met her daughter's blue one, and he cracked a little smile, assuring his daughter that he was going to be okay. When she was not looking, a frown was back on his face. He still could not shake off the feeling that someone was behind him, observing his every move.

Marissa tightened her grip on his hand. For once, it was Marissa who comforted him instead of the other way around. Usually, Marius would have to assure his daughter that there were no 'monsters' under her bed before she went to sleep but today was different; Marissa's behavior frightened him. As a matter of fact, Eponine's room petrified him. He knew the moment he arrived here that this place was something.

"Are we leaving?" Cosette asked upon noticing that Marius was standing behind her, his hand gripping his daughter's.

"Yeah, Daddy wants to leave." Marissa answered, smiling sweetly at her mother.

Then Marius turned to his daughter and wondered: did his daughter just talk to a ghost earlier? He sure hoped he was just imagining things.

* * *

Marius Pontmercy was silent on their way back home, causing Cosette to be utterly worried.

"Hey, is something wrong?" she asked, concerned.

Marius' eyes were still on the road but Cosette could see that he was not really listening to her. He seemed to be in such deep thought, that his mind was anywhere but here. Cosette assumed that he was thinking about his work, so she let him be.

"Daddy is afraid." Marissa suddenly uttered.

"Oh? Why is Daddy afraid, honey?" Cosette asked. Her question was meant for her daughter who was in the back seat but her eyes bore on Marius.

"I'm not afraid." Marius replied unconvincingly, his voice hoarse, for he hadn't uttered a single word since they left the maternity ward.

"Hey, are you okay? You don't look so well ever since we left the hospital. Tell me what's wrong." Cosette urged. She was concerned that Marius' work was taking a toll on his health but she was also starting to get really impatient because she felt like he was keeping a secret from her.

Her hand touched Marius' shoulder and the man jumped and almost drove the car out of the way. She was shocked at the way he reacted, and knew right away that something was terribly wrong.

Marius grunted and took a deep breath, trying to compose himself.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," he kept saying, more to himself than to Cosette. He seemed to have calmed down for a while but he could still feel Cosette's eyes on him. Knowing his wife, he figured that she was not going to let this go, so he relented and told her what had happened at the hospital earlier.

After he had told her everything, he could see that Cosette was just as freaked out as he was. She turned to face her daughter, who looked at her with her big and innocent eyes, completely oblivious of what she had done to both her parents.

"Honey, whatever, _whoever_, you saw at the hospital earlier, she was not going to harm Eponine or Enjolras or Sebastian, wasn't she?"

"No Mommy, she won't. She just wanted to play. But I told her to not disturb Uncle Enjolras and Aunt Eponine because they are tired." Marissa answered in a sing-song voice. She giggled when she saw her mother breathed a sigh of relief and her eyes were back on the road. Marius seemed to relax a little and finally breathed.

The Pontmercys were relieved knowing that nothing bad was going to happen to their friends. But their relief would not be for long.

"That's my girl." Cosette murmured. But then she saw her daughter smile kindly to the empty space next to her. Cosette frowned. Why was she smiling?

"She said she _really_ wanted to play with me but I needed to go home. So she decided to come home with us."

Marius was so surprised to hear her daughter's remark that he accidentally stepped on the break and almost stopped right in the middle of the highway. Luckily, he quickly regained his composure and continued driving. However, his fingers were shaking as he could feel an unwanted vibe in the car.

"Marissa, dearest, please tell me that you're joking. Please tell me that you're just messing with us." Marius said shakily.

Marissa was quiet.

Marius's eyes darted to the rear view mirror to see his daughter but what he saw twisted his stomach and his heart started to pound rapidly against his chest. If he was afraid before, now he was right down terrified.

Next to Marissa was her rag doll that she had put on the empty bed earlier. He was sure that she did not bring it back with her when they left the hospital. He checked. He really did. He was the last one to leave Eponine's room and he saw the rag doll on the bed before he left.

How did that got here?

As if it was answering his question, the rag doll's hand rose slightly, waving at him, the corner of its lips tugged upwards as if it was smirking at Marius through the rear view mirror.

It took Marius all he had to not start screaming.

**A/N: Alright this might not be as creepy as I imagined it would be, but I tried! I wanted the ghost to be a pontianak, which is the ghost that you can find in Malay and Indonesian folklores but I suck and got too scared to even write about it (because to write about it means to think and imagine it and I don't know, I was shivering with terror by the time I finished my research). So, I hope you enjoy this one!**

**Special thanks to Azmira "the Awesomesauce" Eriza for beta-ing and help to make this story better. She's the best everyone, send her some love.**


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